Strengthes and Weaknesses of JetBlue Airways Corporation

Introduction

JetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost regional airline company headquartered in Long Island City, New York. JetBlue Airways Corporation is a public company that is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker JBLU. According to Yahoo Finance, JetBlue operates in the Services Sector and Regional Airlines Industry. JetBlue’s main base is at John F. Kennedy International Airport, in Queens, New York. As of October 2013, JetBlue serves 84 destinations in 24 U.S. states and 12 countries throughout the Caribbean, South America and Latin America. As of December 31, 2012, JetBlue had approximately 12,124 employees.

Jetblue was originally founded in 1998 on the principle of offering a low-cost travel experience to its customers. To differentiate JetBlue from its main competitors, such as Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines, JetBlue began offering amenities such as in-flight entertainment, TV screens on the back of every seat and in-flight satellite radio, wireless aircraft data link service, and cabin surveillance systems, and voice communication. As quoted by JetBlue’s founder, David Neeleman, JetBlue seeks to “bring humanity back to air travel.”

JetBlue’s strong management team is led by its president and ceo, David Barger.

As of December 31, 2012, it operated a fleet of 127 Airbus A320 aircraft and 53 EMBRAER 190 aircraft.

Third Quarter 2013 Earnings Report

On October 29, 2013, JetBlue announced its third quarter results. For the third quarter 2013, JetBlue reported earnings of 21 cents per share, missing analyst estimates by a penny. However, earnings rose substantially from 14 cents earned in the corresponding quarter a year ago backed by cost control and increased focus ...

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... the industry and therefore must be taken into consideration as an influential factor.

Appendix 6

Driving Forces

Driving forces for the airlines industry include factors such as fuel costs, technology, regulation and overall economic conditions. Rising fuel costs cause problems for the airline industry which is energy intensive and heavily dependent on oil. Carriers have been known to pass the costs on to consumers but unless they all do it simultaneously, those that do are at a competitive disadvantage (Hoovers, 2013). “To minimize the impact of fuel price increases, airlines may cancel low-capacity routes, consolidate routes, and use one-engine taxiing at airports (Hoovers, 2013).” Because of the weakness of carrier’s balance sheets in recent years, they have been unable to hedge against oil prices as much as they would like to. They also have been unwilling